After the Applause

(Verse 1)
You’ve read a Cinderella story but not one as cruel as this,
No glass slippers, just cracked floors and a silenced wish.
Smile stitched tight like a costume that never fits,
Applause in the distance, but silence where my bloodline is.

Constantly balancing books on my head whilst serving people
that I dare not call my family,
Taught to bow so well I forgot what standing meant to me.
Kitchen light flickers like it’s judging every move,
Love was conditional, affection overdue.

(Pre-Chorus)
So I painted my pain in glitter and lace,
Learned how to pirouette out of disgrace,
Every bruise hidden under stage lights bright,
If they clap loud enough maybe I’ll feel alright.

(Chorus)
I live and breathe the life on stage,
That’s where I’m holy, that’s where I’m saved.
Where they worship the girl in the silver crown,
Not the quiet child when the curtains come down.
Spotlight kisses what my home denied,
In velvet darkness I learned to hide.

(Verse 2)
Dinner table colder than the marble sink,
Words cut deeper than they think.
Toxic air in a gilded cage,
Fairy tales rewritten in a minor key rage.

Princess on a TV screen,
Scripted smile, unseen screams.
They loved the show, they loved the role,
But no one ever held my soul.

(Pre-Chorus)
So I danced through the ache, through the static and smoke,
Built a throne from every promise they broke.
If love’s a stage, I’ll take control,
Turn my loneliness into gold.

(Chorus)
I live and breathe the life on stage,
Where strangers swear I’m heaven-made.
Where hands reach out like they understand,
But never quite touch who I am.
Spotlight warm like a borrowed sun,
Still freezing when the night is done.

(Bridge)
Then something shifted in the blue-lit haze,
Two silhouettes in the afterglaze.
No crowns, no scripts, no forced applause,
Just bruised hearts with matching scars.

They saw the girl behind the gloss,
Counted every silent loss.
No curtsy needed, no disguise,
Just truth reflected in their eyes.

(Final Chorus / Outro)
Just when I thought I was alone…
the music became slower and the tune got sweeter…
the sun started to shine once more
when she met her moon and her star.

Three girls under fractured light,
Turning sorrow into sisterhood at night.
No castle walls, no poisoned throne,
Built our kingdom from being overthrown.

Now when the curtain starts to fall,
I don’t feel so small at all.
Home isn’t blood, it’s who stays near,
Moon and star whispering, “You’re safe here.”

Dark R&B with a 3am vibe with a soft edge in the vocal style of Azee and Ramsey